[Idiom] Slept in VS Overslept

[fdzone10]

Hi all,

What are the difference between "slept in" and "overslept? Which one is more common to use in everyday English? Thanks.

Fdzone

 

[MikeNewYork]

"Slept in" is usually intentional; "overslept" is usually accidental.

 

[fdzone10]

"Slept in" is usually intentional; "overslept" is usually accidental.

But in the movie Home Alone 1990, "slept in" is accidentally, not intentionally, she said "We slept in", please advise!

 

[Rover_KE]

Mike said 'usually', not 'always'.

There is some crossover.

 

[bhaisahab]

Please correct the information in your profile, fdzone10.

 

[fdzone10]

Mike said 'usually', not 'always'.

There is some crossover.

I see. But in everyday English, which one is more common to be used "overslept" or "slept in" if we were in the situation like the movie Home Alone?

 

[Rover_KE]

Again, as Mike said, 'overslept' is more common in that situation.

 

[riquecohen]

Regardless of the situation in Home Alone, I would not use the informal "slept in" in any situation. If it were planned, I'd say "slept late;" if it were unplanned, I'd say "overslept."

 

[fdzone10]

Thank you all. Can I say that it would be improper use of "slept in" in Home Alone? They should say "overslept" or "slept late".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thank you all. Can I say that it was an improper use of "slept in" in Home Alone? She should have said "overslept" [Yes.] or "slept late." [No!]

The family obviously overslept. When she said "slept in," it was a poor word choice, but we all knew what she meant. Not a big deal!

As everyone above has said, oversleeping is a problem. Sleeping in and sleeping late mean the same thing: the ultimate luxury.

 

[probus]

I think it is a question of dialect. In Canadian English "sleep in" is the universal usage for "sleep late" regardless of whether one's tardiness was intentional. I have heard before that this usage is uniquely Canadian and do not know what other dialects prefer.